Leaving the Villa for the Deaf
by anotheropti
Summary: April finally figures out the last, missing piece for her sleeve. She just needs to find a shop she trusts, but Pawnee is terrible and she's broke. There is one parlor she knows purely by reputation and its big shot artist that she always hears such amazing things about. How good can he be, though? *Tattoo Artists AU*
1. Fill

**A/N: **This was spawned by an anon asking me on tumblr about what tattoos I thought Andy and April would have, if any. That spiraled way out of control and led to this. So, in a way, it's kind of dedicated to that first anon.

_It was honestly just kind of an excuse to picture Aubrey with a shedload of tattoos._

* * *

Walking down the dinky, uncultured streets of Pawnee is never an eventful experience. On top of pockmarked sidewalks and streets laden with potholes, there isn't much to really catch your eye in the small Indiana city. People rarely walk around, more likely to be in their terrible, middle-class cars with the windows rolled down and some song from the Top 40 playing far too loudly or bass shaking windows out of their tracks, and they never seem to care about anyone in their path. A cyclist could be in their lane, or even on the sidewalk, and the likelihood of that bicycle being crushed is higher than that driver being on their way to Paunch Burger.

And, to be honest, that's way too damn high.

People walking around are always the worst, though. The town has its share of crazies, but for the most part it seems relatively liberal or its denizens are making kids that can think beyond their own means for more than a moment, but nothing is worse than being ogled. April doesn't mind it that often, because she knows how she must look to the rest of this town. In a sea of "clean" suburbanites with sweaters tied around their waists, discussing the next PTA meeting, she's walking around with her arms bared and the neckline of her shirt only barely revealing. No one will dare ask her what the litany of ink means across her arms, or why she even has some trailing up from the neckline in her shirt to her neck, so it's best to avoid them. She looks down at the twin hands curling up above her collarbone and remembers the intense, almost deafening twisting pain there. The wings beside them, poking out onto her chest and feathers from them scattered on her shoulders, have a painful memory as well, but all in all she's happy to look away from them and love what they say, and what they mean to her. She just has to wade through, at most, six or seven people that will stare at her chest and arms like they've never seen a tattoo in their life.

They'll only get between her and her goal, anyways: Just the Tip. It's honestly the worst name for a tattoo parlor she's ever heard, but the reputation is beyond anything else she can trust and April doesn't have the money to go anywhere else. She needs to finish this sleeve now before the gaping hole in her forearm becomes even more obnoxious to look at.

When she cuts to the corner where the shop is, she expects something even worse than what she finds. It's an assuming corner shop, just a little hole in the wall, and it doesn't seem as particularly raccoon infested as everywhere else this side of town. It couldn't be that bad. There's no dim lights flickering above the entrance, just a plain door with plain windows and a plain sign. A little disappointed, clutching the folder with her art inside, April opens the door and steps foot into a pleasant smelling room with quiet music playing. It's a Pearl Jam song she doesn't know the name of - she really only knows it's Pearl Jam because of Eddie Vedder's stupid voice - and the lights aren't ready to go out. She'd even go so far as to call it an establishment. When she looks around, she sees a guy in a plaid shirt tapping his fingers in steady rhythm on a table. She looks back towards the door leading to the back rooms but no one seems to want to meet her. Just that guy in the plaid and, when he turns around, calls out to her with an excited voice.

"Hey," he says cheerily, walking a few steps over to her. "Hi, I'm Andy."

"Great," she nods and sighs. "Do you know when the guy that works here is gonna be in? I heard he's the best in this terrible town."

"Thank you," this Andy says with a wide grin, all teeth.

"No, I mean... oh, really?" she laughs and appraises him again.

She expected someone with... well, with more tattoos. A big, beefy guy who she can look over. Hell, give him a handlebar or make him a stereotypical biker. Something other than a fairly chubby guy with stubble, no art to speak of, and two bright eyes with a smile to match them. He's incredibly tall, too, but maybe that's just April's perspective doing one over on her. She expected a squat, inked up biker with a bad cigar habit and instead got this grunge-loving baby face. Maybe he was a piercing guy, but when she glances over him again he's totally clean. Nothing on his ears, his lip, his nose... nothing.

"Yeah, and I'm open right now," he walks over to the table and sits on it, watching her. "You wanna get something done today or-"

"Actually, I have this idea for something to finish my sleeve," she shows him her left arm and the blank space there, and Andy nods in understanding. "And since I hear you're so good, I was thinking about getting it done today."

"Lemme take a look at it," he walks over and takes the folder.

Opening it, he looks over the small sheet. A sea of clouds surrounds a meticulously drawn sun, with two small figures holding hands and standing on the cloud. She always liked that imagery, and the way one of them points at the sun was so hard for her to draw because she'd look at it and get a strange, almost wistful feeling that April would push away as quickly as it came. He eyes it a few more moments and he has something like confusion on his face. He's probably not as good as she thought, as she was told, and this is all a waste of time. Natalie's dumb raven she had put across her back - and it was honestly beautifully done with such amazing texture to the feathers and the eyes were almost _alive _\- was just a fluke.

"Did you draw this?" he asks her, handing back the folder.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's awesome," he says with another big smile, and he hops an inch or two off the ground in strange, totally un-Pawnee excitement. "Can I see the rest of your sleeve? Is it like a piece, all together? Or is it just bits? Is it a work in progress...?"

He trails off and April walks over to pull up the remainder of the white cloth over her shoulder. "I just like how it fits with all of the ritualistic stuff up here," she taps her tricep where a small group of hooded figures surround a small fire, and then down to her bicep where a long stream of fluid emanates from one of the figures' heads and transforms into a seven-eyed creature with large talons. "It's super dark all over here..."

"And you like the mixture," he nods, "like a juxtaposition or something. Maybe like hope or something on your arm."

"Yeah," she says with a small smile before wrapping that up in a grimace. "I mean, sure. I just drew it one day and thought it would look cool."

"Right, and maybe you could have it flow from that monster there," he touches her arm and April shivers, jerking back. "Sorry."

"Don't do that," she warns him and adjusts her shirt again. "What were you thinking?"

Andy walks over to a stack of tracing paper and sits down at the table. April looks over his shoulder as he sketches the outline of her work and makes a tiny clawed foot - just like the one her creature has - touching where the ring of clouds is. He shades that spot in and has a fading color scheme there, and the results - in her head - are amazing. The dark ritual that creates that monster, all leading the creature seemingly taking hold of the sea of clouds where its touch almost diseases them there. And, in the distance, two figures run off into the sunset. They're running off into better things, hand-in-hand, and April actually smiles.

Okay, so Andy's _pretty _good.

"Do you like it?" he taps the monster's foot with his pen. "I mean, it's all up to you of course. I was just thinking it's a really cool mixture."

"And the smaller tattoos would fit it so well," she nods, looking down at the ring of obscure numerals and lettering around her elbow that the eldritch monster's foot hung over. The gaping hole where the finishing piece would go would also be surrounded by a flurry of angels with dark wings and the tails of fire on her wrist. "You know, it could be a really cool piece when it's all put together."

"Yeah, like a big, kind of crazy Bosch painting," he holds his hands out wide and then points, from a much safer distance at her arm. "I think that would look awesome, actually."

Bosch. This dork at least could do a decent name drop, but she does like the wild imagery of everything hacked up and thrown together in that style. It definitely helps that her other arm is a tribute to The Garden of Earthly Delights, even going so far as to have the dark complected skin plastered with pale lights over burning homes running down her whole arm. She shows him that piece and he says the same thing - "Awesome!" - and asks her who did it.

"I know a guy in Youngstown who did this," she taps the beam of light over her bicep and sighs again. "He, um, he was really good."

"Why didn't you get him to do your other one?" Andy asks, looking and confused.

"Bad blood," she says, trying not to think about it and instead focusing on the inevitable finish to this piece, finally. "So, when do you think we could do this?"

"I've got some ideas and, um, do you mind if I look at this overnight and get back to you tomorrow?" Andy raises the folder and has that same, little grin that he has on seemingly _constantly _just from the little while she's known him.

"Sure, I guess," she shrugs. "But I really wanna get this done soon, so just tonight."

"I'm sure you'll love it. This is so awesome!" he looks down at her art like it's the greatest thing he's ever seen and it makes her give a twinge of a smile before thinking better of it. April instead crosses her arms and waits for him to tell her to leave. "You've got a really cool style, and I totally get it."

"It's just the sun and some clouds," she deflects but he's outlining everything on the tracing paper with his finger.

"Yeah, and that, like, super says a lot about everything, and it'll stand out against everything else," he looks up at her and nods, smiling. "Dude, this is awesome."

"I get it," she laughs, actually laughs for the first time in so long that it feels like dust gets kicked up out of her lungs when she does it. It's refreshing. "It's awesome. I'll be back same time tomorrow, okay?"

"Can't wait!" he puts the folder down and writes something down on it before turning around and looking at her with blank eyes. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Um, what's your name? Or maybe that's-"

"April," she says quickly, ignoring her mouth drying and the smile that wants to creep up. Now it's just weird. "My name's April, and I'll... um, I'll catch you tomorrow and we'll get this done."

"Sure," he nods and she walks backwards out of the tattoo parlor with a ghost of a smile on her face the whole time.

When she exits her face is strangely hot and her breathing is weird, and inconsistent. Taking a deep breath, April takes a direct path back to her apartment to avoid thinking about why she actually laughed for the first time since Youngstown. It couldn't be because of the kind of dopey looking, grungy guy who wanted to draw all over her could it? No, definitely not. Definitely not, she tells herself, but doesn't mind thinking with excitement that she'll get to see what he's done to her idea by this time tomorrow.

_Excitement. _

It's weird, and different, and she honestly kind of likes it.


	2. Blank

**A/N: **I've been on a huge inspiration kick lately and that means writing MORE OF THIS AU.

I dunno, I like it. I mean, obviously, or else I wouldn't write it... anyways, you should let me know if you do or if this is literally just trash pouring out of my brain. Never be afraid to tear me a new one! Reviews are a really magical kind of thing, whether they be positive or negative. Everything you say does matter to me and my process.

* * *

She hates waking up like this, in the middle of the night and way too cold. Her sister's been sleeping on her couch for weeks on end and nothing she does can get her to leave. All she can do is let her crash there, snore loudly at four in the morning, and eat every bit of leftover takeout that there's to spare. She's not about to kick her baby sister out, though. After they've been kicked around their whole lives they learned to stick around for each other even when that meant they'd be states apart and find each other a few miles out of some trashy city, both of them too drunk to drive and stumbling back to the other's car with horrible stories to tell the other one. In the end, one of them was always broke - or both of them - and with no one else to turn to they tried to stake it out on their own.

They drift from place to place. Sometimes they stay for a day, or a month, once for a full year. It's not really spoken or written that they're supposed to move on, but by the time April can con her way into getting free ink or a few hundred dollars and Natalie's slept her way into a new car things escalate to a fever pitch and they run themselves out of town. Sometimes it's fun to imagine themselves as bandits on the run, and sometimes it makes April stay up at night trying to get to sleep and hating herself for being a catalyst in their whirlwind life.

"Ugh," she mutters, clutching her forehead and trying to think of something comforting.

Still, April hates waking up with a shiver and sitting up in her bed. At least when she's asleep she doesn't have to pretend there aren't fleas and other assorted pests underneath and all around them, and she can dream of being in a much better place - somewhere full of sun and the warmth of _someone _else - but that's always broken by a chill and the rumbling, constant snoring. _  
_

When she's still in her bed, April tries to unravel that strange feeling from that day. Someone made her laugh, and made her smile just the smallest bit, and it felt _nice_ to actually do that again. There were times when Nat and her reminisced or told their own stories that made the other one laugh, but this felt different. It made her face flush and her hands tighten up into little fists out of nerves and frustration. Out of nowhere, she thinks _you'll get to see him again tomorrow _and that makes her jolt up into a sitting position.

April gets out of bed to stretch and get a glass of water, hoping that maybe she can tire herself out on the minute walk. What really kept her up was that dream, that somewhere better. It was always the same - she'd step onto a hot bed of sand and take in the salty air by the sea. Not far behind her, Natalie would try to catch up and April would look out on the ocean and see a blank sky. Before long, clouds would collect and fit in a neat little ring around that bright sun, just in time for Natalie to find her. It would only take a few moments of appreciating the view before they walked towards the bed of clouds so low in the sky.

Then she'd wake up. Every time.

* * *

Natalie comes with her, back to the shop. They drive over in April's shitty, nearly broken down Civic because her sister refuses to walk more than a block to get anywhere. The plain sign emblazoned with that ridiculous name, Just the Tip, makes her chuckle and April earns a confused look from her sister before they enter. The music that greets them may as well be the exact same song as the day before, but it's pleasant enough that April goes along with it.

The whole morning she couldn't wait to see what Andy had done with her idea. Even his sudden idea of making it all one contiguous work was something both so simple that she should have thought of it, but so perfect that April is a little more obviously excited.

"This guy _is _really good," Natalie reminds her in that clinically bored drawl she always has around April.

"I know, I was here yesterday," she reminds her sister, scowling back. "Andy's pretty great."

Natalie gives a murky little noise, her awkward "laugh" of sorts.

"What?" April asks, watching Andy emerge out of the back room. He waves at her jovially and she struggles to do anything other than nod.

"Yeah, _Andy_ is a pretty great guy," she throws Andy a look before catching April's attention again. She makes an obscene gesture with her tongue and her fingers, making April shove her shoulder "I bet he gives great-"

"Hey!" Andy seems to simply appear in front of them, whether he strode over quickly or his natural gait made him nearly leap over. His big grin is just as bright as the day before, and April likes that.

She doesn't mind thinking that way, either. She likes that he smiles this much. It's been too long since she was around people that smiled the way he did, so she returns it meekly. The muscles in her face feel worn and weak, but when she gets a tiny movement out it makes her face heat up again. She picks at a bit of line art on her right arm that needs a touch up, trying not to think about his smile anymore. When that doesn't work, she combs her hair with her fingers and doesn't realize that Andy's asking her something.

"April, I had so much fun working on this," he nods and she perks back up, nodding along with him like she understands what he's talking about. Oh right, tattoo. "Like I said, your style is so awesome and I'm so jealous-"

"Can I see?" April butts in, pushing Natalie away before she says anything to Andy.

There's only so many times she can take her sister appraising her before April realizes she knows her better than anyone else. Natalie hops up onto the front desk while they head to the little table offset up against the wall of the small room. It's still got that same, vaguely nice smell and slightly disheveled and somehow organized surroundings. Just like him, she notices. He has one side of his shirt tucked in lazily and when she sits down, she scoots close to him and notices he smells weirdly enough like an air freshener.

He pulls out a series of sheets with letters in the corner, A through D, and April moves closer to catch a closer look. Her arm bumps into his and the jolt against her skin makes her move back abruptly, making Natalie jump off of the counter and look between them. April doesn't say anything but Andy has wide eyes, staring at her.

"I didn't mean to- sorry, I'll move over here," he shifts his chair opposite of her at the table.

"It's fine," she says automatically. It really isn't fine, but she doesn't like that he moves away from her like that. "Are these your ideas?"

She sees many of the same ideas from the day before, all in different variations. A is the case they talked about before, with the clawed foot touching the cloud. In another the cloud swirls around the creature's foot and it looks like, in a way, the future is shaped by and from the monster itself. It's not what she's going for, but April definitely likes it. C makes Andy smile and point at the sun emerging underneath the demon.

"It's kind of dumb, but it looks like he's sitting on it," he points out and the way the figures point directly where the monster sits makes April chuckle. "You like that one?"

"No, it's really stupid," she says with that laugh dying mirthless on her breaths. "Thanks for giving me the option, though."

"You know, it's going to be really hard to ink you up," Andy scratches his beard and yawns a little. "Y'know, if you don't let me touch you."

April fumbles with the sheet for a second, looking at D when he says that. Something about that sounds... just as _nice _as when Andy smiles. Still, she refocuses on the samples and the image of a cloud bleeding out little versions of the monster. That's completely the opposite of what she wants, but April's still thinking about what he said to really process how much she _doesn't _want that one. After a few moments she finds her voice again and clears her throat, tapping the first sheet.

"So we're just gonna do the one we talked about yesterday? Awesome!" Andy gets up out of the chair and takes the papers. "I mean, I'm serious though... how are you gonna-?"

"I think I'll handle it just fine," she smiles again, looking up at him. "And your ideas are all so good, too. I mean it's nothing crazy, but I've never had anyone just kinda get this stuff so well..."

Natalie walks up and sighs loudly. "Look, are we gonna do this today or do I have to listen to you try and get in my sister's pants all day?"

April turns back and glares daggers through her eyes and as deep as she can get them to go. But April doesn't have quite the conviction behind it she normally would. Things like these were how they protected each other. Natalie watched out for people that April found herself getting high minded ideals about and she would make sure Natalie didn't let herself be taken in by someone who promised her the world in the basin of a spoon.

But she has to ignore, firmly, the way that Andy laughs uncomfortably and how she crosses her arms to try and ball herself away from him. Andy just scratches the back of his neck and tries to say something before coming up short. And, for fuck's sake, she smiles again.

"I mean, that's not what I'm... that's not professional, and you're," he clears his throat and looks behind them before going back to looking at April. His eyes drift for a moment before he snaps up to Natalie and stays there. "You're a client, and that's not what I meant. I meant that you don't even like when we bump into each other so how am I-?"

"I think I've got it," April stands up and takes the sheet. "So, are we gonna do the outlines today? Save the fill for later?"

Andy nods and though he's across the table he feels so close. Not in a way that makes her want to shove him away, either. "Yes, totally. Just, uh, y'know do you have... man, this is so awkward but do you have-?"

"I've got cash, yeah," April gives him a small bag and he looks inside. His demeanor changes entirely, from bright and shiny to unsure and he even puts the bag on the table. "It's nothing weird. We just picked up a sub and put the money in there."

He looks at the bag and sees the logo for a Pawnee sandwich shop on it. Instantly he goes back to smiling, laughing. "Yeah, of course."

"So, are we gonna do this thing?" she says without thinking, earning a snicker from Natalie and more heat in her face.

* * *

It hurts, and it always does even with the partially deadened nerves in her arm, but she watches it happen the whole time. He wears gloves like a professional and he burns in bits of her flesh with the sharp point of a pen until she can start to make out where the addition is. When he first touches her forearm, he hesitates, but April takes a deep breath and makes sure not to pull away by instinct. Natalie nods at her and April knows she can handle it.

He goes to work with comforting words, as if she needs them. But it's nice anyways, and soon she realizes that's who Andy is or at least that's the Andy she's learning more about in tiny bursts. He's a great artist with a strange mind, and childish judging by the demon taking a crap on the sun, but he made sure to ask her if she was okay with this once more before starting. He steadies her arm for her with his other hand when he can, and she likes how fucking _nice _someone is. She's gotten used to reading people, and bristling at those that tried to fake themselves to get into either her or her sister's bed, take their cash, or take their car. Andy doesn't seem like that. He seems like someone that asks her if she's doing all right because he genuinely means it, and it's aimed at her, and being the subject of someone's genuine, _real_, care is comforting. That strikes her all at once, just like it did the day before, as odd and strangely satisfying.

So when she's done and sits up, the fills ready to be done in a week, she smiles at him again and Andy returns it. Natalie scoffs from the front desk and April makes a mental note to smack the hell out of her in the car. But she can't help looking at Andy and enjoying the way he looks at her.

She knows better. April knows way better than to like this, but she saw it. He looks all over her arms for her ink, but then his eyes stop and trail over her. In one way it's invasive, but she does what she does for a reason - her body's just a means to an end. It's an expression of herself, and to have that appreciated by someone who doesn't seem to have any other intent in his appreciation, but she's been blinded before, makes her touch her skin gingerly and stand up slowly.

"Thanks for doing me," April says, appraising her arm and only looking up to catch Natalie's eyes widen, nodding, and Andy awkwardly laughing again. "I mean, no, fuck-"

"I bet you do," Natalie says loudly and walks out of the shop.

"Your sister was always super weird," Andy says, watching her go. April's pleased that his eyes never wander over Natalie, either, and whether that's because they _do _wander back over April or that it's her sister she isn't sure.

"I bet she was kind of crazy when you did her back," April agrees.

"Oh, yeah... the raven, right? Or was it a crow? I can't really remember..." Andy trails off and chuckles. "She tried to say her flashing me was payment enough, but... okay, this is a bad story to tell you, isn't it?"

"Probably," April nods but grins afterwards. She's not Natalie's chaperone, for Christ's sake, though it definitely makes her happy that he didn't take up the offer. Happy, excited, smiling. What the fuck was this guy doing to her? "It's fine, she's an adult, kinda... in a way."

"She definitely has some cool art," Andy says. "But not like yours, I mean. You should show me the rest of it some time."

April's eyes go wide and she looks up at him, and it takes Andy a few moments to realize what he's said. Then, without thinking about it, April takes the folder with her art in it and scribbles a few digits on it. Before handing it to him, she marks a large "A" next to the number and adds little, underdeveloped wings to it.

And they don't say a word about it, just April giving him her phone number and walking out of the tattoo shop as quickly as possible. She can hear a sound something like a loud, "wow!" but she doesn't stop to think about it. When she gets back to the car, Natalie's watching her intently. April knows she's probably looking redder than she's been in years or maybe ever.

"You need to grab some condoms or something?" she says.

"Jesus," April starts the car, trying to ignore her.

"You shoulda just blew him instead of giving him that money, though," she kicks her feet up on the dashboard of the beaten sedan. "You're ignoring me like you're not gonna do it anyway."

"Not like you, Natalie," April growls and hopes the car won't die out on the way back to her apartment.

For a few seconds, there's just the loud rumbling of the worn engine. Then Natalie sighs. "I didn't, okay," she says.

"What?"

"If it makes you feel better I didn't screw your crush-"

April just shakes her head and blocks out the rest of what she's saying.

It takes her a few blocks before they get back to the apartment, and then a few minutes more, before April says she gave him her number. It makes her little sister laugh out loud, and not with that dark chuckle she has and instead a belly laugh that makes April laugh with her. It's kind of ridiculous, but why not, right? Who knows how long they'd be in Pawnee before drifting to another town, so may as well get her ink done and feel good about herself for a few days or maybe just one night with the bizarrely warm, cheery artist April definitely spent more time thinking about than was probably healthy or safe.


	3. Date

**A/N: **Ain't a doubt in my mind that I was coming back to this.

Had to find the right time, though!

* * *

April isn't even completely sure what she's doing.

Her sister won't stop making fun of her about this. Sure, she took a phone call very quickly and with an excitement that didn't come forth naturally to her. Andy spoke up like he was unsure of his voice and that, too, was kind of great to hear - and it's the whole narrative she's building up in her mind for him that just _works _for her. April never had a relationship where someone cared about her, other than Natalie. She's never had a _real _boyfriend, in the strictest terms, and she's never felt like this, ever.

So she doesn't mind that he asks her out just four hours after they leave the parlor. What she does mind is that Natalie keeps making fun of her.

"So, what's your poison?" she asks, following April as she throws a pair of jeans and yet another white t-shirt on the bed.

"I really don't want to answer that, do I?" April smiles and it's great, because she doesn't really mind this. Nat's being open and laughing, so it's okay by her.

"Well, I mean, he probably already has condoms," she picks up the jeans and stares at the hole in the back of the leg. "If you're at some place with tables, you could probably just-"

"Holy shit, Nat, please," April chuckles and answers the ringing phone immediately. "Hey Andy."

When she shoos Natalie out of the room she's making another obscene gesture with her hand and pushing her tongue into her cheek. Okay, so even if she is laughing and having a good time she could be annoying but that's her kid sister, so she shakes her head. April points out of her room, smiling all the while, and remembers that she's on a call with Andy.

"Um, you're on for tonight, right? I mean, this is weird and I know I shouldn't call you to make sure," he stops and chuckles, and April's smiling all the while. "This is super weird-"

"Just pick me up at my apartment," she interrupts him, staring at the blank line art on her arm.

"Gotcha," he adds in. "See you then!"

"Later," and she hangs up, still looking at the art.

It's actually so weird, but not in the way that Andy thinks. She went there on a whim, expecting someone to just do her up and shove her out the door. Maybe Andy will be a sex-crazed lunatic - which, as long as it wasn't weird, wouldn't be a problem - or an asshole deep on the inside, but for now she likes thinking about someone that makes her smile. And it's definitely weird because he's burned parts of her skin with ink and metal, and he's going to color this in eventually. It's all surreal, really, that April stumbled into him in the middle of a shitty town like Pawnee, where the dating pool is so small and terrible that she sometimes wonders why she stopped in there.

Then Natalie comes in and asks her if she's going to pregame, and April remembers.

She doesn't, because she's not sure what they're even going to do, but she does take an oddly long time getting dressed. She remembers to wear a thin jacket just so that, if it was weird, Andy wouldn't be uncomfortable having her around wherever they went. She didn't even know where they were going, but it could be someplace where the ink on her would be gawked at, uncomfortably, all night. April doesn't hate her body, or even dislike it. On the contrary, the reason she likes the tattoos is because it reminds her that the skin she's in is beautiful and unique, and that everything she does to it is in the name of aesthetics but at the same time she's a person with a wonderful body. Not even that she's attractive - though April's not blind or stupid - but she's a person, and she's got the body she has, and she's going to work on that in whatever way pleases her.

So when she wears that jacket, it's because she's not sure who Andy is, really. It's almost a precaution or a defensive measure, ready to cover up anything he might be ready to use as a weapon against her.

When she hears a text alert and almost flies down the stairs, she doesn't know what she should have thought about him. She should have realized this was going to be the case, and she's not even close to complaining because there isn't a car greeting her. She heard it from a distance, but she didn't think the motorcycle was Andy's.

And, of course, it is. He looks strange with a thick, black jacket and a dumb grin on his face, but he throws her a helmet and she happily gets behind him without a word. He says something but it doesn't go over the roar of the hog and she's never been more pleased with a decision, ever. Save for when she wraps her arms around his stomach, which after the first few moments of hesitation doesn't sting or make her want to rip away from him. That's definitely a good thing, since she hasn't ridden one in so long it jerks her system when the stretch from her building to the next light is long enough to let him catch a decent speed.

All right, so he isn't a stereotypical biker. But, he does own a bike. That's a definite plus, she thinks, since if he's terrible she can steal it and hopefully sell it pretty quickly.

After a few blocks she realizes they're stopping at a diner with open, outdoor seating. It's kind of artsy, next to a coffee shop even, and has all manner of people there. It's nearest the warehouse district of Pawnee, where the real lower class is, and some of the neighborhoods that the middle-class, white suburbanites want nothing to do with.

He parks about a block away, and April steps off on jelly legs.

"Oh man," she laughs, hiking her knees up to her chest as she walks in place. "I haven't done that in forever."

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you," he plays with the strap on his helmet and looks down, almost embarrassed looking. "My car broke down and someone gave me this for some art."

"Woah, that's awesome," she looks down at the not-quite pristine Harley. Hell, she can only barely see that name on it, almost scratched off. "That must have been a serious tattoo."

"Did his whole back," he laughs.

"And you don't have to apologize, this is... cool," she nods.

"I just mean, you had to, y'know, touch me," he laughs again and stows away the helmets. "I thought you were weird about that."

"Only when other people touch me," she explains, uncaring how personal this is. Andy's like that, and makes her want to say stuff like this. "It's weird, but I can do it the other way."

"Well, I hope you can let me touch you eventually," he says and before he can say anything she breaks out into a grin and shakes her head. "No, wait! I meant-"

"I know," she keeps chuckling all the way to the outdoor seating.

They get there and it's cheap, thankfully. Sandwiches and tea, and it's all so stupidly bohemian and small that April really likes it. There isn't anything flashy here, no bar or concert or other den of iniquity, and it's all so against April's expectations from people - and how fucking awful they are, for the most part - that she takes her jacket off and sits there with him. Some people look, but that's fine. That's one of the positive points, after all. Thankfully not everyone ogles her and Andy doesn't make a show of it, or ask her to put the jacket back on, or even say a word about it.

When their waitress comes over, she eyes April carefully and then greets Andy with a warm smile.

"Hey Ann!" he says jovially and for a second she thinks they're going to hug. "I forgot you worked here. How's everything?"

"Dunno, serving people food," she laughs and glances at April again. "Here on a date?"

She looks at April pointedly and there's something there, but April can't quite make it out. Ugh, if she has to have a _rival _over Andy then this is too much. Too boring, too high school, and she might just leave. But then that look warms up and April realizes that this _Ann _isn't looking at her like she's mad Andy's here with someone else. It's different, and she can't quite put her finger on the source.

"Yeah, this is April," he gestures and April gives her a nod. "She's-"

"He's doing ink for me and we're out here," she waves around as she speaks. "Apparently on a date."

"Oh, so you didn't know that?" Ann asks, smirking.

"No, she knew... you knew, right? Oh shit, I'm sorry-"

"I'm just fucking around," April smiles and Andy laughs loudly, his eyes squinting into little beads. He _actually _found that funny, she realizes. April can't stop smiling at that.

"So, what'll you guys have?"

They order and when Ann returns they eat little turkey sandwiches in silence. Andy asks her a few things, minutia about her day and how absurdly boring it is, but they don't have any big questions or answers or discussions and it's nice. Something about the already comfortable aspect here is _nice_, just like Andy.

"So what do you do?" Andy takes another bite and starts talking through the chewed food, making April laugh. "Thorry... ugh, do you and your sister, like, what do you guys do?"

It's hard to explain that. _Oh, I steal and my sister is a part-time hooker. _

"Not much," April shrugs. "Sometimes people pay me for their designs on stuff, but we kinda just... do our own thing."

"Sure," Andy nods, and he must get it but maybe he doesn't. Either way, he doesn't ask about that. "Um, do you guys... do you want your money back?"

April looks up at him, confused. "Why? I paid you for the tat-"

"Dunno, I just... it could be like a rain check," he suggests and takes a drink of water. "Not like this, it's not weird. I don't mean anything, y'know, _weird_."

"Like I'd do that," she says despite thinking, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she probably would.

"I just mean if you wanna wait until you're doing something and pay me back, that's cool," he says.

"I don't want charity," she replies, a little angry. Though, honestly, a little charity every once and a while is what gets her a warm bed and isn't all bad.

"No! Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't, ah I'll just shut up," he leans back and chuckles. "God, this is terrible."

"Really?" April asks, because she's enjoying herself.

"Yeah, I'm not talking or asking you anything and you're getting mad and now I'm a jerk, but yeah duh," he taps the table as he talks, all agitated and, honestly it fucking burns her tongue to even think it, _cute_. "God, I'll do your fill and then you can forget-"

"Woah, woah, woah," she starts laughing a little thing, just a bit of a chuckle because holy shit he's going overboard. "I just meant that the money's yours. No need to go hyper on it."

Andy looks down and nods. "Um, but, you and your sister... you guys are close, right?" he asks, playing with a napkin in his hand.

"Yeah," she nods. "She's all I've got and I try not to forget that."

"You really love her, don't you?" he asks in the weirdest, most poignant way that she never expected from him.

Then again, he's picked up things about her already. He's realized that she doesn't like unwanted touches, and that she's got history that she'd rather not talk about, and that she cares about her sister more than just about anything in the entire world. It puts a real dent in her suspicion that Andy's a piece of crap on really, really long stilts. He says it a little softly, too, like she doesn't want to have it out loud and screaming. And, really, that just makes Andy even better in her eyes.

"Yeah," she nods and smiles. "Do you... is there anyone like that for you?"

She pointedly looks back at the diner and Andy looks at her, confused. After a more harsh nod in that direction, and eventual a sigh of disappointment Andy's eyes light up.

"Oh, Ann? No, no!" he assures her and has a total honesty in his voice. Or, at worst, he's a damn good liar. "She's my ex, and um, we had a weird one. So, I dunno. If that makes you feel weird or-"

"You've gotta stop asking me if I'm comfortable," she buts in.

"Oh, um, sorry," he fidgets with his napkin and puts it down.

"No, it's really sweet, actually," April says and, God, what is she doing? Why is she being so open? Andy seems to almost pull it out of her, though. "Just don't do it all the freaking time."

"Gotcha," he smiles wide, that grin of a grin that only he has.

She loves it. There, she thought it. She doesn't just like that grin, because it's warm and says to her that she's welcome to talk to him and be herself and show him her art - her innermost thoughts. She doesn't just like the implication that he's smiling because of her and that's not the norm for April. Maybe in some way she's totally charmed by it, but she loves it. She loves that grin and all of the things it means.

"But, do you? Y'know, have anyone?"

Andy thinks on it before he speaks. That's definitely new. "My mom and my brother's don't talk to me much anymore, and my dad's super dead-"

"I'm sorry," April says without hesitation, all too familiar to her.

"Thanks," he says, nodding. "Are your...?" and he trails off, April shifting uncomfortably and picking at the skin of her right arm where the light hits a windowpane made of black ink. "Y'know what, nevermind. Um, I don't have anyone really I guess. It's weird, never thought about it like that. I guess I just do my work and talk to people there and at shows and stuff."

He's sweet and thoughtful when he talks, and April feels a pang in her chest when he avoids asking her about her parents. She realizes, way too late, that she's in over her head with this guy. He's cute, he's funny, and he's charming, and he's an _artist_ kind of. Not to mention he senses things about her and avoids them like an actual freaking person and not some terrible piece of shit trying to get between her legs. And that, really, is refreshing.

Not to mention it's so alarming to figure that out, in that second, that she excuses herself to go to the bathroom.

Inside, she laughs into the mirror and looks at herself. She's short, and her fringe is all untidy and gross, and she's not _cute _or _funny _or _charming_ though she guesses she's an artist. But, whatever, she likes him. A lot. So, she splashes water on her face and dries off. Walking out, she's met by Ann. She's staring her down, arms crossed.

"Hey," April greets her, uncomfortable with the sudden introduction of a person in her face.

"Look, I don't know what you think you're doing with Andy," she starts off and this conflict is so unexpected April shakes for a second. This woman's a little taller than her and is probably much stronger than her, judging by the way April saw her handle a series of trays for a huge party. "But, I really don't want to see him hurt."

"Gross, I'm not going to," April tries to brush past her by Ann steps in the way.

"No, I mean it," Ann repeats. "If I hear him talk about some short girl he worked on breaking his heart, I'll figure it out. I'll find you."

"Why are you so weird?"

"Because that guy's a sweetheart..." she says, trailing off like Ann's only realized that recently. April won't ask her, or Andy, but their history must be strange. "He really is, and I don't want anyone to hurt him. Just, please, remember that."

"Sure," April nods and before she passes her up, she sighs. "He is, though. A sweetheart."

Ann looks at her, nodding, and smiles. Their awkward exchange over, she heads back outside to greet Andy. Okay, she realizes, he's a bundle of awesome things put together into a package that's pretty great to look at. All in all, she could have made worse decisions. Sitting down, she half expects her phone to ring and Natalie to need her for something or for Andy to go on a rampage at someone at another table. None of that happens though.

Instead they ask each other stupid things, and start playing a game where they try and figure out what some of the other patrons' jobs are. And, when she scoots her chair closer to him, she doesn't mind what it looks like as she bumps into him and takes a drink, giggling as he points at someone with a large moustache and the guy looks over at them. Andy waves and the other guy shakes his head, making April laugh a little bit. She doesn't mind that she puts her arm next to his and that she's seconds from taking his hand when they realize they need to pay their bill.

On the way back to her apartment, April lays her head on his back and likes the feeling. She reminds herself to remember what Ann said and to remember that it's okay to like some people every once and a while. Maybe just one person, but it's okay. It's definitely okay when they stop at her apartment and he plays with his helmet again, nervous.

"Um, so, do you... wanna, y'know, do that again?" he perks up, hopeful. God, even his _eyes _are happy.

"Totally," she nods and there's a blank, dead silence between them.

"So, I'll call you-"

She moves forward and kisses his cheek, leaning up on her toes to do so. It makes him stop talking and his face explodes into the widest, dumbest grin she's seen on him. It was something a teenager did, and something so small, but he looks so thrilled that she can only smile back. Feeling her lips on his face, rough on facial hair, is maybe the best she's felt save that game at the diner.

"Don't make it too long," April says, smiling and walking backward to her building. "I get impatient."

"Of course! I'll... um, yeah, I'll call you and stuff, and we'll go on, like, fifty dates," he starts working himself up and she laughs, turning around. "Or not! I mean-"

She opens and closes the door in a hurry because her face is on fire and smiling is happening so frequently now. She loves it, too. It's, of fucking course, _nice_.


	4. Touch

**A/N: **Woo, more AU.

Whoo? Woo? Whoo.

Whoo!

* * *

After that first date, and April relishes the taste of that word in her mouth, she has to explain to Natalie why she's smiling and a little red in the face when she goes back to her apartment. Sure, she can blame the last part on the chilly evening but the smile didn't just up and appear on her face. Then, of course, she has to make it weird and April shakes her head, ending up in her room and sleeping with an easier mind. It just felt easier getting to sleep - without a pill or staying up too late, or dreaming, or anything - when she remembered that Andy was somebody, something, she wanted constantly in her life.

It's always been there, and hidden so far back because of their life, but she wants someone like that; someone to make her smile.

But she remembers that he's only in her life because of this one stupid thing. This dumb art, her sleeve, and after this weekend she likely won't ever see him again. By that time they'll either drift apart because Natalie does something that makes their escape from Pawnee necessary, Andy would grow bored of her shtick, or he'd remember that she was a client and try to be all weirdly professional again. After all, dating someone you're doing work for has to be against some kind of weird rule, right?

Well, if one date broke it then two definitely did. He takes her to see a movie, because of course he does, and it's some terrible romcom that he thought she'd like, but they end up sitting in the very back row making fun of everything the main characters do. Every single cheesy line, April repeats to Andy and he laughs his raucous, grumbly belly laugh throughout the theater that makes people look up at them in disgust. But they do it _every _time ("Oh, isn't it beautiful?" and somehow they end up recreating this scene both ironically and literally and April gets strange, uncomfortable feelings about that) and it never stops being funny. When someone walks up to them and asks them to leave, politely, they do leave because this movie is terrible and April's another stupid cheesy line away from being _very _close to Andy.

It's stupid, but it makes her smile and it's at least kind of cheap too. At least when they sneak in candy, and April has to tell him not to throw his wrappers away in the theater, it's cheap because otherwise it'd be a killing. So they eat Kit-Kats and watch something about some stupid book or whatever, all that matters is that they're laughing the whole time and April has a stray thought halfway through the movie about what chocolate and Andy taste like mixed together and she has to excuse herself, again.

So if two dates are bad for his credibility, three dates must make him totally unprofessional. She decides what they do this time, and it's so in the name of not costing anything she just shakily takes his hand - and has to disconnect from him for a moment because her heart beats a little too fast and she's sweating and what if that's weird, and her fingers are strange and all knuckles and what if _that's_ weird - and they take a walk.

"Um," Andy says with an uncomfortable laugh, "so, this isn't bad?"

She looks down at their hands and shakes her head. It's not like they're strangers, well maybe they actually are strangers but they're strangers who talk a lot and go out on dates and she's kissed his cheek so they're on pretty good terms, so she doesn't mind the touch so much. In fact, it feels good. For the first time in so long it hurts to think about it, touching someone's skin doesn't feel like an affront to her or an invasion. It just feels really good, so she shakes her head.

"Cool," and the way he says it makes her think he's actually happy she's okay with it.

"It's nothing, I mean... it's just, I'm only holding your hand," April says as they turn the corner towards a little park Andy's leading them towards.

"Yeah, but you freaked out when I touched your arm a few days ago," he adds in, "so I guess it's pretty good progress right?"

April feels his thumb move softly and her breath catches, in a good way. "Yeah," she manages to say. She tries to say anything else, but she's lost in him for a few moments and it makes April clear her throat.

They keep walking past shops and rundown buildings, side-by-side houses and apartment complexes all saying the same thing about Pawnee's lower classes, and past alleyways that April doesn't want to think about, little homes with littler windows where the chain-link fences block others off from entering. 'Beware of Dog' signs litter those fences, and she squeezes his hand when she sees them, the dog they're supposedly being wary of panting happily in front of them on the other side of the fences. They walk past all of those dogs and those houses, and the alleyways and apartment buildings that aren't hers, for a very small patch of grass and a small bench.

It looks kind of ridiculous in the middle of everything so industrial and urban, but somehow it's well kept and the grass is green. April stands there looking at it, confused, when Andy walks over and she follows. He sits down and, again, she follows.

"Who the hell keeps this thing so clean?" April looks at the grass again and bends down to feel it. Her face flushes with heat because Andy doesn't respond to her, and - y'know what - that feels really good.

"Um, some lady who works at City Hall," Andy clears his throat and April thanks something that she stole Natalie's jeans.

"Eyes up, Andy," she says with a smirk and she knows his eyes widen and she can almost hear his eyes snap up and look straight ahead.

When she sits back up straight, she eyes him closely and notices Andy sweating. Laughing, she squeezes his hand and can't help herself when she leans forward. She can't help it, but there's a doubt that makes her kiss his cheek again. Half expecting Andy to drop his brightness in one moment, she's pleasantly surprised that he only smiles and keeps holding her hand on that stupid little bench. It's weird, but it's a small dinky little patch of grass in an otherwise gray and brick nightmare so why not enjoy it? After all, isn't that what parks are for?

But April doesn't think about parks, or recreation, and instead looks at him and wonders why she's so comfortable with him. Then again, and she remembers this despite knowing him only for such a small amount of time, that's him, and that's Andy, and what that means is he's bright and warm and she doesn't mind being small and cold around him because in the end it all evens out and she ends up smiling more than maybe ever.

"So, uh, are we gonna keep going for a walk," he asks, chuckling but never looking away from her.

"Yeah, but let's go back," she says despite knowing how bad of an idea it could be.

"Oh, sure, you probably wanna do stuff and it's getting kinda late and, um, yeah, ok," he says, standing up and pulling her up with him. "Besides, I probably should worry about-"

"No, I meant let's go back to my place," she corrects, nodding at him pointedly.

"Oh," he nods, as if understanding. "Oh!"

"Nothing weird, remember," she tells him.

"Oh, definitely... I'll just, um, hang out there," he nods and they repeat the walk back.

It's less exciting and new, but Andy's not any less exciting or new which is definitely what she's looking for. He's constantly like this, and how he's kept up this awkward positivity is beyond her, and that makes him better for her than anyone she's ever known and April understands that completely. She doesn't know why she invites him to her apartment, or how bad this could end up, but April is more annoyed at her discomfort and doubts than actually feeling either of those things towards him. If it takes some getting used to, April _will _get used to Andy touching her.

So, they take the few flights to her place and thankfully Natalie's still gone. Maybe they'd only have an hour or two, but April could work with that. She gets them water and they sit awkwardly at the little table in the kitchen - because she's pretty sure the couch has some kind of bugs in it and they don't even really sit on it anymore - looking at each other and not really saying anything. At that point April looks around and realizes how rundown this whole place is and what she must look like to him. But, again, he wears too much plaid and flannel and probably has the worse house between the two of them so it can't be that bad. As long as he doesn't think she's unclean or something - she's not that disgusting - and starts to think of her like some stereotypical white trash tattoo junkie who can't even shower herself, then April's okay with whatever he thinks.

After a few more minutes of really uncomfortable nothingness, not even a smile or a question or anything, she gets tired of this.

"So, um, y'know I do want you to be able to, y'know..." she waves her hands unintelligibly around, not even sure what she wants to say. "Y'know."

Andy nods and then laughs, squinting. "Um, no," he says clearly.

"I mean, you said you wanted to be able to touch me," she laughs too because, _wow_, this is getting weird.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything weird-"

"I'd like that too," she says, and notices how close their chairs are only then. "I mean, if you could, like-"

There's a breath there where April thinks this is ridiculous, and she's saying ridiculous things, and that she just wished he'd get up out of that chair and kiss her so that she didn't have to do everything herself. It didn't bother her, really, because she knows it comes from a good place. Like everything else he does, this too comes from a good place where he knows she's uncomfortable with sudden, unwanted touches. These aren't unwanted though, and April hates feeling like that.

She just wants to have him stand up, kiss her, and it not be weird. Is that too much to ask for?

So, it doesn't come as much of a surprise, though it should, that he does. He nearly leaps out of his chair at her and some animal instinct tells her to get away but April can only lean back in her chair at Andy kissing her like that. Her hands go to his face immediately, and like that, it's not weird. There might be an overly fast beating of her heart but that can't be because she's uncomfortable because she's _kissing _him and his mouth tastes a little like dirt and entirely like excitement, and April doesn't hesitate to let her fingers touch that facial hair she thinks about too much or to let her own hair fall over his face in the moment.

It might come as a shock to her system to be this close to someone, but April - mentally - wants it. She wants his hands to touch her arms and for them to stand up together until April's maybe pushed against a wall. That never happens, but they do stand there and the kiss never ends all the while. Her hands stay rapt in his beard and that feeling, and his hands go to her waist and before long, and she doesn't even realize it until the door's opening behind her, she's jumped up around his waist.

And there isn't a split second where April doesn't want this. Not from the kitchen, to the door, to her bed.

* * *

**a/n: **There is an extension to this chapter on AO3 (titled "Narrative of Forms") and, hey, if you want that kinda smutty thing it's totally fair game.

Yay!


	5. Tell

**A/N: **I can see the ending from here! We're on the final stretch folks. Thanks for sticking around or reading this far if you have, and I hope you stay for the ending.

* * *

The sheets move comfortably with his body latched onto hers, both of them quietly breathing out the aftermath of the tickle fight that overcame them. It's never felt so good to be close to someone, and in truth April's never felt so undeniably _okay _around him, so she can only lay her head on his chest and sit there considering all of this. What would happen if this was simply a one-time thing, and they never spoke again? Maybe it would be some kind of weird, trying to find herself story she could tell her sister the next time they go crashing through another shitty Midwestern town. She could say it with a straight face, clear head, and flat voice but behind closed doors her feelings would change.

His hand in her hair, just idly playing because he can, is what she wants this to be. Why can't it be the feeling of those fingers in her hair and the way he leans down to kiss her and how she readily accepts and lets him? April should know better, she really should, but right now she wants this to be nothing but kissing and enjoying each other with very little thought for anything else. The bedsprings creak awfully and she wonders if it could be that, too, but doesn't let her mind wander further.

"Hey, so, um," Andy starts as eloquently as she expected. "Is this, y'know?"

"No I don't know," she laughs, burrowing further into him. The warm comfort of his arm on her back makes her sigh in content. "Ask me again."

"Is this cool?" he tries again, and when she looks up at him confused he rubs his arm more obviously and harder on her back. "That, I mean. Y'know, because... uh, you're, y'know-"

April interrupts him with a kiss, because she really _doesn't _know if this is good. At the moment, she's more than happy - something she resigns herself to either never knowing or ignoring altogether - and Andy's still asking her that. It's sweet, and kind, and honest. These were things April doesn't really know in her day-to-day, save for when she met him, and it's different. Everything about him is different and in that singular way that makes her smile and kiss him more. He smiles the whole time, curling against her lips until they break apart and he's still smiling.

He still has that grin on him that makes her want to match it, to find out if she can at least look as happy as he does. The best she can manage feels like shoddy work, but it somehow makes his eyes brighter and her chest lighter than air until she can't tell what she's doing only that her mind is intoxicated with him. It really is that, and she realizes it. The things he does, and the way he is around her, make April happy. There is no ulterior motive so far, and she has to learn to let go of expecting that from some people. Other than to get her artwork realized, seemingly the only thing on Andy's mind is attempting to make her smile.

She loves this, April realizes. His grin that she loves, and his kindness, and everything - even the _physical_ just minutes ago - she loves all of it. There's something else buried in there that's terrifying to reveal and give to him, something fully _in love _that she can't give him just yet because it terrifies her, but for now April revels in the normality of it all. That was something that she never got, and likely won't ever find again. She wants it to be like that, and for him to make her feel normal. Normal is all relative, and oftentimes under backwards definitions with baseless claims at best, but his entire energy and the way he is to her, for her, and around her makes April want to be that way. If normalcy was relative, she'd find her own normal. But she wants it with him.

"So, was it-"

"Yes," she says with an eye-roll.

"Cool," he leans back into the pillow with that same, dumb expression on his face.

"Hey, I think you're pretty awesome," she starts, tapping on his chest.

Andy turns to look at her, beaming again. "You're awesome, too," he says. "Not just for your art either, but that's cool too! I just, y'know, you're cool."

"Wow, just what a girl wants to hear in pillow talk. I'm glad that was _cool_," she jokes and Andy looks down, almost blushing but grinning. "Seriously though, you're... different. I like that."

"I dunno, I'm just being... me, I guess. Most people just think I'm stupid or too optimistic," he chuckles and pulls her closer. She likes the implication of that intimacy, so she smiles into his chest. "I guess you're fun to be around and you like doing dumb stuff I like."

"Hey, my art isn't dumb-"

"No, no!" he hastily defends, moving an inch away and with a frightened look. "I didn't mean that. I swear I didn't! I meant-"

"Calm down," she says with a short huff of laughter. "I was just joking, dude."

"Oh, sure," he nods and almost automatically resumes their position from before. She likes that _much _better.

"You're different because you actually give a shit," she mumbles, drumming her fingers on his belly. The soft, little _thumps _are pleasant and relaxing, something she never expected from physical touch. "About, y'know, me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

April sits on that for a moment. That, right there, is Andy. A simple little question, like it's all the most obvious thing in the world, explains succinctly why she doesn't want this to end. No matter how terrifying the depths of her thoughts, or how unsure her emotions and wants, he was in bed with her - with _her_, someone who couldn't stand to feel him touch her just days before - and asking why he would do anything but care. That explains why she can care about him, and why she likes him. Not just him being nice, and it wouldn't ever be only that though she enjoys that, but it's because Andy's basic state at-rest, and unaffected by anything else, is to make her comfortable. He exists solely to please others, and what that _really _meant April doesn't bother to think about. All it means now is that she can't imagine letting go of him.

That thought, being unable to let go above all else, was where her real terror sits and where the real fear lies.

"The guy in Youngstown, the guy who did my tattoos," April starts, letting this come out before she stoppers it again. "It wasn't just bad blood that stopped me from going to him."

"Yeah?" Andy asks, not stopping to question where this came from.

"He was my dad, and then... y'know, Nat and I have been gone ever since he left," she sighs and taps her cheek on his chest, looking across him and reaching her hand over to his spare one.

"Did he, y'know?" Andy's hand is warm in hers and immediately figures out what he's supposed to be there for, gently rolling his thumb over the back of her hand while his other arm sits motionless on her.

"No, but my mom did. That's why he left," she says with her cheek flattened on him, making her words come out a little garbled. "He always told us he cared, but when things got rough for us he just left. He left me to take care of my sister and never said a word."

"How old were you?"

"Eighteen," she sighs. "I started my other arm when I was sixteen and had it done by then, and I've gotten new stuff since then... but it's just been us for four years now. Dead mom, no dad, a shitty car and shitter towns."

Andy laughs a humorless breath, moving to lean his cheek against the top of her head. "Sorry," he mumbles. "I didn't know. I shouldn't have asked you about your parents."

"It's not your fault," she says quietly with her hand still in his. "It's not like I was wearing a sign around my neck with all this crap on it."

"I know, but you're young and your sister can't be that old-"

"She's nineteen," April says with a gross taste in her mouth, trying not to think of that as _four __years _and instead pretending that she was nineteen the whole time.

"Hah! I tattooed a minor," he actually giggles this time, making her face heat up and a smile form on her lips. "So she was sixteen when she was around here last time... that was a pretty good fake."

"How do you remember that?"

"I remember basically everybody I've worked on," Andy shrugs but they never break away from the most intimate contact April's had in her life. Not sex, because she's done that and it's never been intimate with anyone else, but just being _there _and holding each other. "I have favorites and I'm _super _glad I didn't take up her offer now... ow!"

April disentangles her hand from his and slaps his arm, but when he looks down she's got a smile on her face. "Don't talk about sleeping with my sister," she reprimands him. "Not cool."

"Gotcha. So you guys have been just going around places and... just, kinda, you're like her mom," Andy looks down at her and his eyes warm over, though there's never a hint of ice behind them, until she feels like he's looking at some kind of superhero. "That's so awesome."

"I'm her sister, not her mom. Besides, she's not that much younger than me," April casually deflects all of that with a smile and turning to face away from his eyes.

"That's not what I meant. You did so much for her when you didn't have to, and you're still thinking about it," he adds that last part and she stays looking away from him. "I know I'm just gonna be a one-night stand or whatever, because you wanna make sure she's not gonna get hurt by anyone here. I get it, so I want you to know how freaking cool you are."

"Andy-"

"Not because you've got awesome ink, which you do," he notes, "but you're, like, all about her aren't you?"

"It doesn't have to be like that," she whispers, because it's been in the back of her mind for years but she has _never _let it out.

"Maybe it does," he sighs.

"I don't want it to be. Pawnee seems... decent, and you're definitely the best person I've ever met," April shrugs. "Maybe we can find a way to make it work here."

"Why?"

"Because..." April trails off, finally looking up at him. "I really, really like you. A lot. More than any other person I've ever done this with. Or probably anyone I've ever met, honestly. I feel like I can just _be _around you, y'know?"

"That's-"

Andy's broken off by a door opening and something passing the open door. She wants to slap herself for forgetting to close the door again, but she can't stop it when Natalie looks in with a sly grin and wandering eyes. Eyes that wander over Andy until April pulls the covers over his chest and sticks her tongue out at her sister. That's met with a devilish laugh as Natalie waves at the two of them and walks away, clearly happy with her discovery. April chuckles before scrambling to close the door lest they be intruded on again.

"You have to tell me how he is after!" April can hear Natalie shouting over weakly running water.

"She's just-"

"Fantastic!" Andy shouts back at her.

There's a faint wisp of more laughter coming from the bathroom and April shakes her head at him.

"What? I thought it was good-"

"Shut up," she says with a smile before leaning over to kiss him again. With the door closed and Natalie running her shower, there was at least _some _noise interference to get in the way.


	6. Finish

**A/N: **So, I had a clear timeline planned out for this and the major point of this whole thing was literally just April and Andy falling in love. There's this chapter + an epilogue afterwards, but we're very close to the finish line!

Thanks for reading and reviewing :)

* * *

"We should probably get out of bed," April says with a ball of blanket in her fist.

"Really?" he looks over, almost sad.

"I think we could stay in for a little while longer," she acquiesces because his face falls so quickly at the prospect of moving and it's enough to make her beam. "But I kinda think we should, y'know, get this whole tattoo thing done soon."

There's a flicker of something across his face when she says that and April sort of regrets it. She doesn't really get how his brain works, like sometimes he's so intensely focused on her and he's so _happy _that things just are the simplest but she can say something that completely throws the balance off between them. It'll take some time getting used to, but she will get used to it. If there's anything April's certain of it's that getting used to Andy is the easiest task she's ever given herself.

"Hey," she speaks in a soft tone, reaching over to touch his face and tilt his head towards her. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah?"

"I can't wait to see it done," she smiles and rolls her thumb along his cheek.

"It's gonna be so awesome," his demeanor changes back to that bright Andy she loves to see. April plays with his hair, brushing it to one side and chuckling. "You look so good."

"Shut up," she laughs again.

"I mean it. You and your tats are all just, I dunno, you're freaking beautiful," he doesn't hesitate to say it, holding her hand on his face. "Do you ever think about getting more on your back?"

April's still mildly bowled over by what he said before that. She's an adult, she knows she's attractive, and she's heard slimy greaseballs say pretty much the same things to her before and she definitely knows her tattoos are awesome since she designed most of them herself. There isn't a part of her that should be afraid of anything else, but Andy puts her on a completely different edge than anyone else so it's only natural to feel an intense burn in her chest at his words.

For a second she forgets what he even asked. Pulling herself out of that spiraling mess, she notices he's thumbing the back of her hand now and eagerly awaiting her answer. Trying to remember what she really intended to do, she only stutters dumbly for a moment before gathering her bearings.

"Yeah, I just haven't had the ideas for it yet," she manages to get out, staring into Andy's eyes and really appreciating the warmth there yet again. "Maybe I'll get the inspiration soon."

"I hope so," he kisses her hand and rolls over to hold her. "Gives me more time to be around you."

"You're such a dork," she says with a trailing bit of laughter before she realizes he's serious. "Why d'you say it like that?"

"You guys will move on, y'know. I know what you said, about trying to make it work here, but do you really think it could work?" he posits it all so quickly that April doesn't have time, nor does she want, to think about it very hard.

"We could figure it out-"

"Do you want to?" he asks quietly, like it's something in the back of his head that's been sitting there for the few hours they've been together like this.

The notion that she _doesn't _want to try and make this work with him is wholly unbelievable, and to hear him say it like he's at all worried about it hurts. If there was anything April prided herself on being it was loyal. Abandonment wasn't in her vocabulary. A test of blood showed that in her sister, and a total willingness to accept her role unlike her dad marks her forever as hating the sheer concept of running away from him but she's been running away her whole life. Town to town, city to city, and job to job all of it's trying to run and keep her sister away from _something_. Vague somethings chase them everywhere past state-lines and motel rooms.

It's that fear of losing her sister. Natalie's the only person she has left in her life, but it doesn't have to be that way she realizes.

"We run because I'm afraid," April confides without thinking. It's been happening so frequently, why not keep going? "My dad ran away from us and if we stayed in some place I was always afraid I'd let her go. I know it's stupid, hell it sounds fucking _dumb _coming out of my mouth now, but I can't help it."

"Hey, you don't have to-"

"But I do, okay? I want you to know it, because it's... it's important," she shrugs as best she can lying down, never looking away from him in that minute distance they're sharing. Likewise, he never stops kissing her palm and her wrist, slowly and comforting. "If I stayed in Youngstown, my sister wouldn't have had anything. She left before me, you know."

"She ran away?" Andy's nearly silent when he asks that question, and she's so thankful for that she can only nod because words are really hard. "So you were chasing her that whole time?"

"I mean, we found each other a lot. It was weird, like we were just supposed to be inseparable after a while," April jostles him with her shoulder to give herself some room to leave her cheek on his chest as she spoke. "So I hate the idea of staying where she might not but I don't want this to end. I really, really don't want this to end."

There's a few seconds of silence and Andy kisses the top of her head through hair before he gets up. Dully cold, she feels that great abnormal and amazing heat dissipate into the rest of the room like it was meant to do. This is the part where he left her. April can't give up her baby sister, but it hurts for it to be this way.

"Hey," he leans down on the bed and kisses her cheek. "Let's go do your sleeve."

"Sure," she nods and stands up, a little strengthened by his kiss.

* * *

Riding on the bike somehow feels less eventful even though it's like this is the last time. April should burn it into her mind and let herself have this memory as something better and a tiny, bitter child inside of her hates Natalie for a moment. Utterly repulsed by the thought - thinking how much better she'd be off without her sister - she takes a long, hard breath inward that makes Andy look over his shoulder ever so briefly.

Instead of saying a thing she leans her head on his back, taking everything in at once.

By the time they reach the parlor, her face is partially chapped by the beating jets of wind but she sidles up to Andy as they walk. With her arm around his waist, she's trying to drain every second she can of this closeness. It's baffling and it's painful, and the worst. Inside of the shop, the music hasn't yet started and the lights aren't warm and welcoming. She just stands by the window that lets a little light in while Andy fumbles around in the dark for lights. After they're on, she sits idly in the little chair on the metal piston and jack. Taking her jacket off, she looks down at the little outline healed and ready for the fill.

The two figures staring at the sun, the black _something _meeting their cloudy path like it's bleeding through to them, makes her want to cry. She'd never have this without him, but she'd never have _anything _without Nat. The choice is easy, and it hurts.

When he returns he must notice her face because he puts down the plate and pen-case, getting on his knee and holding her forearm.

"Woah, are you okay? Do you wanna wait to do this some other day?" he asks her quickly, probably selfishly and she's not even crying. Her face just feels warm and she's not as even-faced as usual.

"No, but... I want this to work, Andy," she turns to look at him and realizes she might be crying but tries so damn hard to burn it away that her thoughts resurface just as strong.

"So we'll figure it out," he moves in front of her, April watching him the whole time. "You know what, I'll hire you."

"What?"

"Yeah, you're the best and your art is amazing and you don't even have to work. I'll just give you a paycheck and-"

"So you'll be my sugar daddy?" she says with a wide grin, trying so hard not to laugh.

"Hah, I guess. But you guys can live at my place if you want. It's not that big, but my friend's moving out soon and there's two rooms," Andy says it all so quickly, like he's just as afraid of letting go as she is that she keeps that smile. "Natalie can do... something. Go to school or work at The Bulge or something."

"Why are you like this?" she asks, softly.

"Because it's not just you, and if you leave... April, I know it's weird and fast and stuff but, y'know, I love you," he hesitates before the final three words but when he says them there's this weight in his voice, an almost preternatural gravel and growl in them that draws April's eyes to his immediately.

There's something different in the air. His hands feel heavier, and her breathing is strangely light and balloons her lungs in painful bursts called words that die in her throat before escaping. The pleasant lighting is everywhere, and that same stupid Pearl Jam song starts up as if prepped for this exact moment, and her eyes widen. Andy notices, or has to realize what he's said, because he starts to say something but she just shakes her head.

"I didn't mean this. Why are you, y'know, you?" she lays it out for him as simply as she can manage. In a few minutes she'll have to figure out how to respond to him making the first move with _those _words.

"What?"

"Andy, you're amazing. You're almost too perfect," she shrugs but their stare never breaks for a moment. It would be frightening with anyone else, but she needs it with him. "Why are you like that?"

"I'm not perfect, but I don't want you guys to leave," he stands up to his full height, walking over to the case on the small table. "I do, you know. So, I get if she's more important. I really do. I know it's probably easier not to take that chance, but I want to say it before we do this. I wanted to say-"

"I love you," she interrupts abruptly, barely listening to the last few words he said.

"Yeah-"

"No, I mean: I love you," she looks up at him and her breathing gets so difficult but amid a chest full of fire and little fluttering wings she can't deny it feels good. "I love you, too."

He stands there holding the case and she hears that little whirring noise and the buzzing a few moments later when she lets her head on the little cushion. How she's meant to sit there and wait for him to finish this with those words shared, April doesn't know. It could have been a twelve hour process, but to her the pain was minimal and she only remembers it starting and looking down at slightly bruised skin and the completed work.

Showered against black ink, the warm orange of the sun and grey-white of the clouds clashes hard with the surrounding darkness and the black, shaded figures pointing. The tiniest little detail in their form alarms her, at least that she can tell they're two separate people and the flowing, almost wavelike crashing of the puffs of clouds underneath their feet strike out even more. The sun almost mists the clouds around it, as if the heat of the star could be seen in the contours of her skin and the colors Andy so expertly applied to her. It's a truly spectacular sight, striking and interesting against the darker theme of the rest of her arm and it fits so well that it dawns on her: none of this would have been without him.

All of it keeps her attention for almost as long as the procedure itself must have. Either that or she's still reeling from letting Andy know how she feels and letting him hear words, that she meant, that were never said to anyone other than Natalie in _years_. Actual years those words went unspoken save for a chance few meetings where they seemed necessary in a drunken stupor and now they feel so easy to just give over to him.

"Do you like it?" he has a tone that implies everything from sadness and regret to hope.

"It's beautiful," she says after gulping hard on her first breath. "Thank you."

"So, when do you leave?" the defeat in that question stings like a knife wound.

"I told you I don't want to," she stands up and flexes her arm, wincing at the panging nerves.

"But, your sister-"

"Can stay in one place at least for a little while," she breaks in. "If I tell her I love you, she'll stay."

"What about everything with her leaving, and being afraid of all of that?" he presents her with that like he's afraid some loophole will rip this all into shreds at the slightest movement. It's fair.

"She's my little sister and I don't want to see her get hurt, but if she moves on we won't forget each other," April walks over to him and tries not to kiss him on the spot, fed up with words. He needs them, though, and maybe she does too. "If she stays here while we... figure this out, then that's amazing, but I can't spend my whole life looking after her either."

Andy looks down at her, unsure, but then April lifts her arm to look at her newly minted sleeve. The pain there is fading from the deadened nerves more than anything else, and in a few hours would return in a jolt and die out again, but she still stares and traces a wide outline of it with her finger. Never touching the colors, she just keeps a little portraiture circle around the whole of her new piece, like it's some kind of weird, destined garbage that this is where they are so suddenly and all because of this silly little tattoo.

"So, you'll stay?"

"Yeah," she gives him a little curl of her lips and accepts his broad grin. "You can be my sugar daddy and you'll cover me in tattoos."

"Everywhere?" he asks with that excited burst of energy in his voice.

She eyes him with a devilish grin. "Everywhere," she says, letting the word drip out in long syllables.


	7. Epilogue

**A/N: **This is the ending, folks! Thanks for reading and for commenting. I love this universe and if I ever get the urge to write it again I will, but for now I'm going to think about other fics, potential AU's, and all that.

Hope you liked the story.

* * *

**1 year later**

"Dude, I'm pretty sure this guy's a genius," one short man with a soft face says to his much wider friend, waiting patiently in the lobby.

"You saw the same shit I did?" the taller, haggard looking older man responds to the younger kids' conversation.

"Yeah, like that," the meek-faced boy points at the woman staring daggers back at them. "She's got it. Must've come here for it special."

Patiently they wait because the sour-looking girl behind a counter in the front rooms glares them into submission. She's laced with art, likely done by the guy who _everyone's _heard about. Though she never says a word to them, both boys are convinced they're being cursed just by pointing at her and the older man shies away from saying anything. The explosion over that very tattoo on the girl's arm, the only bright thing on her, is what drew them there. It's what draws two or three people every day, like there's some mysterious caravan of wandering hippies and bikers looking to get work done. Sometimes it's local Pawnee kids, too.

The music in the parlor is stereotypical grunge that both boys had never really heard before, and when the back door opens they're hopefully shifting their focus that way. The figure that emerges - tall, chubby, bright, and unshaven with a smile clear across his face - makes all three look at each other in confusion. The girl behind the counter smiles, and it's so unusual that the three patrons are sure something horrible is about to happen to this clearly happy person. Instead of driving a knife into his chest and eating his heart in front of them, she leans up on her socked toes and kisses him on the lips. They share a brief look before she jerks a finger over her shoulder at the three of them.

"So, who's first?" the flannel clad giant announces. "C'mon, there's probably people driving to get here."

"Yeah, we can't have people wasting space," a third voice announces and another girl emerges from the back room. "Bodies waste space."

"We know how to get rid of space-wasting bodies," the sullen eyed girl behind the counter says with a smirk before glancing at the newcomer.

They look related - the shorter one with a longer nose but the same eyes and complexion, and the counter-clerk sharing a very similar smile with her - but no one can comment when the old man stands up and walks over to the person they've traveled all this way to see. He looks at him briefly before smiling and shaking his hand, like they've met before.

"Shit, Andy," the old man starts, "I didn't realize you'd gotten yourself an old lady."

"I'm not his _old lady_," she lets out with a grimace.

"That's April," Andy points over to the girl and slaps his hand on the leathered shoulder of the biker. "Babe, this is my old buddy Stan. He comes here, like, once a year. Where you been dude?"

"Y'know, around. Saw all the hubbub with your new style and thought it was pretty cool, and it's been a little over a year so," he shrugs and Andy chuckles. "What's wrong?"

"That's not my style! Say hello to my new artist," he gestures to April, who simply stares at Stan. "Plus, she is also - now - my incredibly hot _wife_."

Stan's teeth are yellow when he grins broadly and April looks like she's struggling to keep her grimace before it shifts into a smile. The two boys look at each other, confused at the whole of the events happening in front of their eyes. It's kind of strange, all sorts of unusual, and definitely not what they expected to see in the shop at this hour. Or at all, really. Why couldn't it just be some cool leatherhead? Instead it's... well, a menagerie of weirdos.

What a strange place.

"So, is the missus gonna do my design?" he says with a polite nod of his head, like a bow.

April chuckles. "How can a girl say no to that?" she walks over to the little table and Stan follows, Andy watching on before turning around to the two boys.

"Look guys, that's an old friend of mine... so whaddya say you come back tomorrow and I'll chop twenty bucks off your bill?" he asks kindly and with a quiet that speaks volumes about how many times he's done this very deal and gotten yelled at.

They look at each other in mild disappointment, but forty bucks is forty bucks. Turning back to him they nod with smiles. Andy returns to the little table, watching his wife - _holy crap_ \- work expert shapes and drawing purely off of Stan's descriptions. By the end, the little bit in the center looks more and more like a Biblical cherub complete with wings and a tiny man's body. It's kind of horrifying, but that's probably what makes April smile so much doing it.

That, and the fact that they really want to tell _someone _who isn't Natalie.

After she's done, April sidles up next to Andy and throws her arm around his lower back as Stan works on putting little notes down where he wants changes. She stares up at him and looks at her left hand still dangling. The metal looks _weird _in contrast with the rest of her skin, but only because the shining silver is incredibly mismatched with her skin and the black ink on the back of her hand she's recently had done. It's mesmerizing sometimes, watching April draw ideas on her body and then have him do a look over _all _of them, and before long she's doing new bits and filing in or covering over old art that's in need of a patch.

There's one spot she's saving, though. Just above her right breast where the flaps of the wings never reach and the hands aren't nearly wide enough to touch: just a little spot, where she has the outline of a name already written there and encircled by thorns that whip underneath into a neat underline. Walking over to Stan, after a brief talk with April, he sits down but gets so giddy he has to stand up. Pulling his old friend up, he quickly embraces him in a tight hug that's met by laughter telling just how often he does this. When Andy breaks away though, Stan's face evens out into a calm, wrinkled expression.

"What's up, man?" he asks, undeterred.

"We're not just married," he hops up and down on his feet, taking April's hand and putting theirs combined on her stomach.

There's a second where nothing's said. Maybe he doesn't get it, April wonders, but then the mood changes in a split second. Stan's eyes widen and he looks up at Andy, who nods vigorously. April gives a wayward smile, one that she doesn't bother to hide, and Stan reaches over and gives her a huge hug equal to his with Andy. She chuckles, not minding his stink because she really is _incredibly _happy, and he whoops and hollers like it's the greatest news he's ever heard.

"Holy... when?" he looks starstruck, his eyes still wide and his face pockmarked with joy. Now April understands why he's friends with Andy, who had much the same expression when she told him.

Andy was putting away dishes at his place when she found out. It was exciting but also _terrifying_ because there wasn't anything in her life that she cared more about than watching over her family, and with Natalie still around - around but taking over their old apartment and turning it into her own - April didn't really know if she wanted it. She was _young_, very young, and it scared her then. What if Andy didn't want that? They idly talked about it, especially just before the makeshift wedding they had in Vegas after an incredibly fun night of strip clubs and gambling. Really, getting married was easy because it didn't really ask for much.

But a kid?

Then Andy's eyes. His face, his body language - everything - when she told him changed her mind. Not that she was anything other than on the fence about it. April realized a long time ago her instincts around Natalie were motherly, but she didn't ever dare think about getting to that point in her life. Then there was Andy, sweet Andy, who made her understand that this future could be a reality. He became a ball of physical energy at that point, unable to contain his excitement for a full month.

"In June," April says with a small grin. She squeezes Andy's hand on her stomach and he gently kneads her shirt before looking back at Stan, his same, awestruck look plastered on his face.

"It's gonna be the most awesome kid ever, and they're gonna have an awesome mom and the coolest aunt ever," Andy says all of it with a huge grin. "Dude, you missed our wedding-"

"Everyone missed it," April laughs.

"Right, but I think... what was her name? European? Endorphin...?"

"Equality," April corrects. "The stripper at our wedding's name was _Equality_."

Stan just chuckles and slaps Andy's arm again. "Sounds like I missed a helluva show, dude," he still has that wide smile perched on his face and April kind of likes him, too.

"But yeah, since you totally weren't there for the wedding we wanted you to be around after the kid's born just... y'know, just for a little bit. Stay just for a bit, maybe hang out with us for a few days too," Andy says, and April catches something in his voice. It's hope. Suddenly she realizes a lot of things about his and Stan's relationship.

"Nah man, I'll be around after but... I can't stay here for that long," Stan jokes and shakes his head. "So are we gonna get this done or what?"

* * *

Later that night, in bed, April sits with her head on her palm and looks at Andy expectantly.

"He's a great dude, but... people always leave," Andy sighs and gives her a smile. "Except you, babe."

With a smile, she nods at him. Andy leans over and kisses her, holding her cheek and smirking against her lips. April accepts his kiss and tucks herself into him after, happily sighing at the warmth and comfort his body gives over. She won't be leaving anytime soon, even if only to prove to him that she won't. Really though, there's a lot of selfish love there. After all, she still has to get that name done on her breast:

_Jack._


End file.
